To address this gap, researchers from the University of Göttingen, the Leibniz Institute for Biodiversity Change Analysis (LIB), and the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research are launching a major effort to document European "marine annelids" - segmented sea worms - and make the data openly available. By building a comprehensive, accessible dataset, the initiative aims to speed up the discovery of new species and deepen global understanding of biodiversity. The project, "EuroWorm: Accelerating Global Marine Annelid Biodiversity Research with Open Genomic Data for European Species," is led by the LIB and funded by the Leibniz Association. Mapping Hidden Ocean Biodiversity With Genomics Marine annelids are found across nearly all ocean environments, where they help mix sediments, recycle nutrients, signal pollution levels, and support marine food webs. The research team plans to collect samples from European locations where many species were originally described. Once collected, the specimens will be identified morphologically - meaning by their form, structure or shape -, photographed in high resolution, and analyzed using advanced genomic tools and other modern techniques. The goal is to assemble a detailed genomic catalog of European marine annelids, clarify how different groups are related on the evolutionary tree, and explore how their...

Der Dünnschnabel-Brachvogel ist ausgestorben. Zuletzt wurde er in den 1990er-Jahren gesichtet. Er ist damit die erste europäische Vogelart, die in der Neuzeit ausstirbt.

Seed dispersal is crucial for ecosystem persistence, especially in fragmented landscapes, such as those common in Europe. Ongoing defaunation might compromise effective seed dispersal, but the conserv...

A new study shows excess outdoor light is impacting how insects hunt, mate and make them more vulnerable to predators

As of 2020, the global death toll for farmed land animals exceeded 80 billion annually

Herbiⓥore published a post on Ko-fi

Millions of mining bees are living in the soil of Ithaca's East Lawn Cemetery, new study finds.